DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – A North Texas hospital has a patient in isolation as they evaluate them for potential exposure to the Ebola virus.
Officials with Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas released the following statement Monday night:
“Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas has admitted a patient into strict isolation to be evaluated for potential Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) based on the patient’s symptoms and recent travel history. The hospital is following all Centers for Disease Control and Texas Department of Heath recommendations to ensure the safety of patients, hospital staff, volunteers, physicians and visitors. The CDC anticipates preliminary results tomorrow.”
The patient’s travel history and specific symptoms remain unclear, but it is said to involve a high fever and vomiting. The name of the patient has not been released.
CBS 11 News spoke with Dallas County Health and Human Services director Zachary Thompson, who confirmed that the patient had been in the West Africa area where the Ebola virus exists. “Looking at the travel history is the first indicator, and then the next step is [treatment or non-treatment] once we get lab results,” he said.
Thompson definitely felt that there should be a heightened sense of awareness in North Texas, based on what has happened internationally. “With what we’ve seen in the media and how deadly the Ebola virus is, it is a concern,” he said.
“With what we’ve seen in the media and how deadly the Ebola virus is, it is a concern,” he said.
The thing that alarms me is that the only way they caught it was with the man’s travel history. What if someone comes in who hasn’t traveled?
I do not believe at all that this is the first case. I think that this is the first one they’ve actually gotten their hands on.